Fandango Appoints Paul Yanover as President

Related: Fandango

Fandango, the nation's leading moviegoer destination, has appointed former Disney digital executive Paul Yanover to the newly created position of President. He will report to Nick Lehman, President of Digital for NBCUniversal Entertainment Networks & Integrated Media.

Yanover will lead The Company's overall business strategy, taking Fandango to the next level of success as a multi-platform entertainment brand. Specifically, he will focus on significantly growing its original content offerings across mobile, TV and the Web, as well as expanding strategic partnerships with the movie studios, driving social engagement and building on Fandango's strong e-commerce foundation. Yanover also will be charged with enhancing all aspects of the overall Fandango moviegoing experience, as The Company continues to innovate with new products that shape the future of the industry.

"Paul is the ideal leader to build on the incredible momentum of this business, as Fandango broadens its offerings for consumers, advertisers as well as exhibitors -- and maximizes the unique benefits of being a part of NBCUniversal," said Lehman. "His wealth of experience at the intersection of entertainment and technology will help Fandango continue to redefine the way we think about the movies."

Rick Butler, Fandango's Executive Vice President and General Manager, will report to Yanover and continue to run The Company's day-to-day operations, including managing relationships with exhibitors and other key partners. Butler and the Fandango team recently achieved The Company's best summer season in its 12-year history, in terms of ticket sales and traffic, now reaching 41 million monthly unique visitors.

"Fandango stands as one of the most exciting and innovative players in the digital entertainment space," said Yanover. "I look forward to working with Fandango's impressive team. They have clearly built an enormously successful company, and I am excited to take the business to new heights."

A seasoned entertainment, ecommerce and technology veteran, Yanover brings more than two decades of experience to his new post. Yanover served as executive vice-president and managing director of Disney Online, the entertainment and lifestyle digital product group of the Disney Interactive Media Group. He grew traffic across the digital brands to peak at 36M unique visitors – a 50% increase – and more than tripled ad revenue. In this role, he oversaw all Disney-branded strategic, creative, technical, and marketing initiatives on the Internet and mobile web, from Disney.com to Disney's suite of premium digital products including online games, virtual worlds and streaming service Disney Movies Online.

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